Introducing Coed:Code - an event for diversity in systems programming

We are putting on an event which we hope will help improve diversity in systems programming. And we hope that it will be fun. All are welcome and it is free. The event is called Coed:Code and it is on Wednesday 3rd February at Google Campus.

Coed:Code is a warm, fun and supportive event looking at systems and infrastructure programming. We are crafting a social event to give diversity in tech a nudge. The speakers will be women and those from other typically under-represented backgrounds in technology. Everyone is welcome.

We Want Equality in Technology

We believe in equal opportunity for people working in technology. This is morally right, and it is practical. For example: there is a mismatch between the people who make technology, and the customers they are serving. Anyone can use technology. But it is mostly made by men. We believe that a diverse workforce makes better products and we are not alone in this view.

At Weaveworks, we do systems programming. Essentially this means “backend infrastructure”. Today this includes tools like Docker containers and the Go programming language. This technology is really interesting to work on, and we know many women who do this work excellently. Yet, we find little diversity at conferences, communities and companies. For example, it is quite possible to go to a tech conference whose audience is 95% white men. This “invisibility” is impossible to defend.

At Weaveworks, we want to be part of the solution. We don’t want to wait for “the pipeline” to improve. Let’s do something constructive right now. We are teaming up with others who feel the same way.

Welcome to Coed:Code

At Coed:Code, we hope to develop an alternative. The format is an early evening mixer type event. We’ll have talks, discussion and we’ll have mentors. We want to introduce people to systems programming and help everyone do it. We feel this specific area has not got the attention it deserves, and so Coed:Code builds on the good work done by broader groups such as Women Who Code.

We’ll have discussion. This is a chance for developers, employers and end users to talk about anything from the state of Docker code, to writing better job adverts. Anne Currie from Force12 will lead a panel to get things moving.

We’ll have mentors. If you want to get into systems programming in any role, there will be experienced practitioners who want to help you and perhaps sponsor you.

All are welcome. Come if you want to learn. Come if you want to meet people like you. Just come! Sign up here.

About the author

Alexis is the co-founder and CEO of Weaveworks. He is also the chairman of the TOC for CNCF, and the co-founder of the Coed:Code meetups. Previously he was at Pivotal, as head of products for Spring, RabbitMQ, Redis, Apache Tomcat and vFabric. Alexis was responsible for resetting the product direction of Spring and transitioning the vFabric business from VMware. Alexis co-founded RabbitMQ, and was CEO of the Rabbit company acquired by VMware in 2010, where he worked on numerous cloud platforms. Rumours persist that he co-founded several other software companies including Cohesive Networks, after a career as a prop trader in fixed income derivatives, and a misspent youth studying and teaching mathematical logic.